Permutation
by Marauder-chan
Summary: Time travel is a tricky business. So when Nico is sent to the past, to when Percy is only twelve years old, he can't expect everything to turn out perfect. But Hades if he doesn't at least make things better. Canon pairings.
1. Chapter 1

**I really should know better by now than to start another story. However, it is summer vacation, and I'm feeling really optimistic about this one. This story will be strictly canon pairings, so please don't ask me to make it Percico or Pertimis or any other pairings you really love that aren't canon. You can like them all you want, but they won't be happening here. I hope you enjoy anyways! **

**By the way, a line break means a change in point of view. In this chapter it only has Nico's and Percy's, but I may include different one's in later chapters.**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson belongs to Rick Riordan. Nothing you recognize belongs to me.**

* * *

Nico was pretty used to strange things happening to him. He was, after all, a demigod.

However, with this, he didn't know what to think.

He blinked once, twice, then just to be sure he was seeing what he was seeing, he blinked a third time. Nope, it was still there.

Extending out in front of him was complete and absolute darkness. Not like the underworld, where there were some seemingly bottomless pits, tortured screams, and a few billion souls milling around in addition to the darkness. Here, it was just... nothing. No sounds, no sights, nothing. Completely black.

Well, not completely, he mused, looking down at his pale hands, which almost seemed to glow against the dark background. He could see himself, at least, so he knew he wasn't blind. A small consolation, considering he was stuck in the middle of nowhere – literally.

A voice from behind him interrupted his thoughts. " Nico di Angelo."

He stiffened, then turned around, only to be faced with one of the oldest looking people he had ever seen. The man had a long, bristly white beard, and his skin was covered with wrinkles. He was wearing a long robe that fell below his feet, making him appear to be floating. Maybe he was, Nico couldn't see the floor anyways, so he wouldn't know. The strangest thing about the man were his eyes: they were a pale cream color that was almost white, and would alternate between seeming like they held all the wisdom in the world, and glazing over and becoming unreadable.

"Who are you?" Nico asked cautiously.

The old man's robes ruffled in the wind as if on cue. "I am Chronos," he said.

Nico tensed, and clenched his fist. "Kronos?"

The old man rolled his eyes, losing his dignified air. " No! I am tired of being mistaken for that old sadist! Do I seem like a titan to you, boy? My name is Chronos, C-H-R-O-N-O-S! Not Kronos, K-R-O-N-O-S."

Nico just stared blankly at him.

Chronos sighed. "You demigods and your dyslexia. It can be so inconvenient at times. I am Chronos, god of time. I have taken you to a pocket dimension where time is frozen, so I can relay my offer to you."

His form flickered, and Nico saw flashes of a small child, a teenage boy, and a middle aged man. "You see, things have been going terribly wrong in the world. You and your demigods are losing the war against Gaea."

Nico's eyes narrowed. "Wha-"

"Do not interrupt, boy, it is terribly rude. As I was saying, your world is going to be destroyed soon. _However_, I am giving you a chance to rectify this." Nico opened his mouth to speak, but Chronos kept talking without giving him room to do so. "How, you ask? Quite simple, really. I will send you back in time to change things."

Nico gaped like a guppy for a few seconds, before regaining his composure. "You can do that?"

Chronos waved his hand in the air. " Ah, I suppose there are a few laws against this, but what the gods don't know won't hurt them. As long as you follow my explicit instructions, they won't notice a thing out of place. Now, for the matter of _when_ I will take you. After careful deliberation, I have decided that you will go straight to the beginning."

Nico's eyes widened slightly in panic, and Chronos, noticing this, quickly revised his statement. "Not the _beginning_ beginning, boy, that would be a disaster! No, I will take you the beginning of a certain hero's story. One you may know: Percy Jackson."

Chronos pulled a folded up piece of parchment out of the folds of his robes and held it out for Nico to take, which he did hesitantly. "When you arrive, you may open this and do what it tells you. Much of it is already set up for you; it shouldn't be a hassle at all. Any questions before I send you?"

"What if I don't want to do this?" Nico asked.

Chronos rolled his eyes. "Then I suppose life as you know it will be destroyed. Any_ good_ questions?"

Nico frowned. He didn't know how to feel about this opportunity. For one, he was getting a chance to turn things around, make everything turn out better, keep the world from being destroyed. That was a plus. However, Nico didn't trust himself to not mess things up, and make everything worse.

"Why me?" he eventually asked.

Chronos smiled. "Because you fascinate me, Nico di Angelo. You know what it is like to have one small factor completely change your life. For you it was the death of your sister. Now, you will find out what it is like to change another's life." Nico noticed everything getting blurry. "Now go, child, and save your world."

Then Nico stopped thinking and everything turned to black.

* * *

Percy Jackson walked to class with a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.

Of course, this wasn't that unusual of an occurrence. Classes at Yancy Academy usually were pretty dread-worthy. The only exception was Mr. Brunner's Latin class, which was, in Percy's opinion, the only interesting one he'd ever had. All the rest were a bore.

But this feeling wasn't the same as his usual _on-my-way-to-class,-hope-the-teacher-doesn't-kill-me_ feeling. Something was going to happen today, he knew it.

"Percy? You okay?" Asked his best friend, Grover, who was hobbling alongside him with crutches.

"... Yeah," Percy lied. "Yeah, I'm fine." Grover frowned like he didn't believe him, but dropped the subject, thankfully.

They walked into his first class to be met with the usual sight; boys wrestling and spitting at each other, girls giggling and gossiping, and the teacher desperately trying to wrangle the group under his control to no avail. Percy and Grover sat in their usual seats: right in the middle of the class, where they wouldn't be labeled as nerds or slackers.

Of course, it didn't stop them from being picked on by people such as Nancy Bobofit, who was heading over to them right then with a wide smirk on her face. "Hey, losers!" she said, making Percy frown in annoyance and Grover sigh in exasperation.

Luckily, she didn't get much farther than that, because right then the bell rang, signaling the start of homeroom. All the students reluctantly filed into their seats, not bothering to lower their voices enough for the teacher to at least be heard.

"Today-" the teacher called out over the talking, cut off by a flying sandwich he had to duck to avoid. "Today we have a new student!"

The talking slowly diminished, turning into a bunch of hushed whispers. A new student was not as common an occurrence here, since parents usually were reluctant to have their kids go to a school known for juvenile delinquents. When it did happen, it was a noteworthy occasion.

"He should be here in a few minutes," the teacher told them. "I expect you all give him a warm welcome." A few of the kids grinned, as if the teacher just handed them a new toy, or in this case victim, and said, _Have fun! _

Percy saw Grover give a start, his eyes wide. He frowned, then appeared to sniff the air.

Percy nudged him. "Hey, Grover, what's wrong?"

Grover ignored him in favor of muttering to himself. "... Can't be... … didn't notice before... strong scent..."

Before Percy could wonder if his buddy had finally lost it, the teacher spoke up. "Ah, here he is now!"

All eyes turned to the form of a young boy standing in the doorway. He was fairly short, and his scraggly black hair fell into his obsidian eyes. He had dark circles underneath them, revealing either a lack of sleep or an overall stressful life. He wore jeans and a black t-shirt, and an aviator's jacket over it. He was watching them all with a paranoid look in his eyes.

In other words, he fit right in at a school like Yancy.

"So," he drawled. "Am I supposed to introduce myself or something?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Nicholas Morson, Nick for short. 12 years old. Lived in L.A. for a while, before my family got tired of me and shipped me out here. Nice to meet you."

The teacher nodded, as if pleased. "You may sit in the empty seat in the back."

Nick nodded, and weaved through the desks, casually stepping over a foot someone stuck out to try and trip him. As he passed Percy, he could have sworn the new kid paused for a second and glanced at him. Then he passed him as if nothing happened, and sat at his designated seat in the back of the class.

Based on his first impression, Percy Jackson had no clue what to think of Nicholas Morson.

* * *

Class dragged by all too slowly for Nico, who squirmed in his seat practically the whole time. It had been forever since he had been in a school, and he was not accustomed to having to sit down for hours on end. And his ADHD definitely didn't help any. He didn't seem to be the only one distracted, though; every once in a while, a classmate would turn their heads and glance at him, some seeming more curious than anything, while others held a mischievous look in their eyes Nico knew all too well. He resolved to be especially wary of his surroundings for the next week or so.

One boy he recognized as Grover the satyr seemed to stare at him more than any of the others. He'd turn away if he saw Nico had noticed him, the tips of his ears pink, but would just look back at him a few minutes later. Nico guessed he probably _was_ pretty smelly, him being a son of Hades and aware of his status as a demigod, so he wasn't too surprised or unnerved by it. But he still didn't like it very much, so the next time he saw Grover turn to look at him once again, he shot him a well-practiced glare of intimidation. Grover didn't bother him after that.

Another thing that he thought was pretty odd was seeing Percy this young. He was always used to having Percy be a few years older than he was, so it was strange having him be the same age as him, at least physically. Mentally, Nico was actually a year older. However, Chronos had taken a year off his life (as he so happily explained in the letter he gave Nico) in order to keep them in the same grade. Nico was _not_ happy about this at all, but there really wasn't anything he could do about it, so he kept the grumbling in his head to a minimum.

When the bell did ring, Nico followed Percy and Grover out of the classroom. Chronos had given him all the same classes as Percy, and it seemed that Grover coincidentally (or maybe not so coincidentally) had the same ones too, so he figured that he could avoid being lost by following them everywhere. And he also had the chance to listen in on interesting conversations, one of which was happening at the moment. And the topic of said conversation happened to be Nico himself.

"So, why were you staring at the new kid like that?" Percy asked Grover nonchalantly. Grover jumped slightly, caught off guard by the question.

"W-wha? I wasn't-"

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Sure you weren't."

Grover glanced back at Nico, who quickly looked out the window, faking distraction. He turned back to Percy and lowered his voice, so Nico had to strain to hear what he was saying. "Listen, Perce, I wasn't- I wasn't trying to be creepy or anything! I was just... just curious, okay? I was curious. I mean, he is kind of weird, and-"

Percy still looked dubious. Grover must have sensed this, because he coughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject. "I've got to go see Mr. Brunner. There was this... homework assignment. Yeah, a homework assignment I had a question on, and I need to talk to him about it. I'll see you in class, okay?" And with this, he scrambled off, barely remembering to use his crutches.

Nico walked up to where Percy was standing. "Interesting guy," he said casually.

Percy jumped about a foot in the air, and Nico snickered at his reaction. "Wh- wha? Who is?"

"Your friend." Nico cocked an eyebrow at him. "You know, the one who just ran down the corner?"

Percy stared at Nico for a few seconds, before asking, "Are you doing that on purpose?"

"Doing what?"

"The thing with your eyebrow." Percy made an attempt to mimic it, which looked rather comical.

"What thing?" Nico kept his eyebrow up while saying this, hiding his amusement.

"... Never mind," Percy said. "My name's Percy."

Nico was so tempted to say something like, _We know who you are, Perseus Jackson, _but he figured that wouldn't help him make friends with him. It would probably disturb the guy more than anything, especially since he wasn't familiar with monsters and their uncanny knowledge of his full name yet. "I'm Nick," he said instead. "Do you have English next? With Mrs. Bard?"

Percy nodded. "Yeah. Want me to take you there?"

Nico grinned at him. "Yeah, I'd hate to be late on my first day. That can wait until the second day. Any suggestions on how to survive Yancy Academy?"

Percy smiled back as they started to walk. "Okay, if you see a girl with orange hair and a nasty smirk, avoid her at all costs..."

* * *

From then on, Nick became a frequent companion to Percy and Grover. Grover had seemed somewhat uncertain of him at first, but accepted him as a part of their little group fairly quickly. Percy, meanwhile, was liking Nick more and more the more he got to know him. He had a sarcastic personality, and was slightly pessimistic and paranoid, but had a great sense of humor and an air of confidence Percy wished he could mimic. Not to mention he did a good job keeping the bullies away. His glare could be scary when he wanted it to be!

Another interesting thing about him was his relationship with the teachers. Well, two teachers specifically: Mr. Brunner and Mrs. Dodds. Mr. Brunner seemed to view him similarly as he did Percy; someone he expected a lot out of. However, while with Percy it was like a mentor who wanted him to succeed, with Nick, it was less hopeful, and more... 'wary' was the best word Percy could come up with to describe it. He wasn't obvious about it, but it was still slightly noticeable.

On the other hand, Mrs. Dodds was unbelievably obvious about her feelings of him. She completely avoided looking at him, and not in the _I'm pretending you don't exist_ way. It was more like she was scared to look at him. Or talk to him. Or acknowledge his presence in any way, shape or form, other than her palpable fear. On the plus side, Nick appeared to be highly amused by this, if the way he took the time to raise his hand for every question when he never bothered in all the other classes was any indication. Or how he commented on every single sentence she spoke. Or the smirk on his face that never left it while he was in that classroom.

Yup, he was definitely amused.

It didn't stop Mrs. Dodds from picking on Percy, though. She still seemed to hate him as much as before, if not more so. Percy wasn't exactly sure what he did to offend her in a past life, but it can't have been so bad as to deserve twenty pages of notes assigned to him alone. It was especially annoying when at the same time, Nick didn't have to do _anything_. He seemed to enjoy tormenting Percy by watching TV at the same time he was trying to do his homework. Once again, Percy cursed his ADHD and the allure of distractions.

At least he wasn't alone in this factor. As it turned out, Nick was both ADHD and dyslexic also. It was a strange coincidence, but Percy wasn't complaining. It was nice to have someone understand what it was like.

Although that didn't help with the note taking. Honestly, it would be a miracle if he even managed to finish _one_ page of notes.

When it was revealed in May that the sixth-grade class would take a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Percy wasn't sure whether to look forward to it or dread it. Field trips never turned out well for him. It seemed that whenever he went out anywhere, something happened that got him either in detention or expelled. He didn't plan any of it; trouble seemed to make a living of following him around. And museums never really were his thing. He found them terribly boring.

On the plus side, Mr. Brunner would be chaperoning the trip. He always managed to make things interesting, whether it was mock sword fights in class, or, well, field trips to stuffy museums. So, Percy was starting to think that maybe this time, it wouldn't turn out so bad.

He should have learned by now not to get his hopes up.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm proud of myself; I got this done really quickly. It helped that I had such a great response to it. You all are the best.**

**Thank you to all my reviewers: Slone13, ObsessedwReading, H. N. Dots, Elsa-and-Ana, KitkatMoon, monster of the shadows, floboesequalsflutesandoboes, Melodramatic Rainbows, and funlove109.**

**In response to a reviewer question: Pairings will be eventual Percabeth, possibly eventual Jasper, Frazel, and Caleo, and other pairings that may be mentioned but won't play too big a role, such as Silena/Beckendorf. None of them will be the main focus of the story, though, as it is centered around Nico. Now, on to the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan. I do not own the stuff.**

* * *

Nico was really feeling like he had forgotten something.

All twenty-nine sixth graders were in an old school bus on their way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Nico was in a seat to himself, sitting in front of his friends Percy and Grover. He didn't pay much attention to them, though, as he was too wrapped up in his thoughts.

_Metropolitan Museum of Art... Why does this sound so familiar? I feel like Percy told me something about this sometime, but I can't remember... Hades, this is frustrating._

He was jolted back to attention as the bus rolled to a stop in front of the museum. He climbed out alongside a furious looking Percy, and Grover, who was picking what looked like food out of his hair.

"What happened?" Nico asked.

"Bobofit," Percy growled, glancing towards the grinning girl behind them high-fiving her friends. "Who else?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "Want me to take care of her for you?" he suggested, cracking his knuckles.

Grover interrupted before Percy could respond. "Seriously, guys, it's not that big a deal. It's just peanut butter. Don't get into a fight for my sake."

Percy grumbled undecipherable words under his breath as he walked into the museum. Nico followed after shooting Nancy a quick glare.

The museum trip turned out just how Nico expected it to: boring. Greek and Roman mythology? He'd never seen anything like _that_ before. There was just _so much_ new stuff for him to learn.

Er, not that he was claiming know everything there was to know about it. But he knew far more than any of the other kids, not counting Grover. Percy even called Kronos a _god_, for Zeus's sake!

Lunch eventually came. Percy stayed behind to talk with Mr. Brunner, so Nico and Grover went out by themselves. They sat at a fountain some ways distance from the rest of the class. Nico still had the uncomfortable feeling that he was forgetting something, but he couldn't think of what it was for the life of him. Percy had never liked talking about his old adventures, so whatever it was had probably just been mentioned in a passing comment or something of the sort. Nico decided to try not to think about it too much, or he'd go crazy.

He turned to Grover. "So... How long have you and Percy known each other?" he questioned, feeling slightly awkward.

Grover took a bite of his veggie sandwich. "About half a year," he said through chews.

"Ah." Nico looked off into the distance, not sure what else to say. He noticed the huge, black clouds covering the sky. Zeus must be angry about something, he reasoned. He felt uneasy, as if what he was forgetting was just on the tip of his tongue, just barely beyond his reach.

He was interrupted from his thoughts as Grover began to speak again. "Percy... He's a good guy. Too good, I think sometimes. He's completely loyal to the people he likes, and tries his best with everything. I mean, you can't tell by looking at his grades, but he really does. And it bugs him when he can't live up to people's expectations. He feels angry and disappointed. But it doesn't make him any less loyal to them. That's why I need to protect him. Both of you." Grover seemed to be lost in his words, and didn't appear to know what he was saying to Nico.

Nico wasn't really sure what to say to that. So, like an idiot, he blurted the first thing that came to his mind. "I don't need protecting."

Grover's ears turned pink as he realized what he just revealed. "Ack! I mean, forget it Forget I said anything."

Just then, Percy came up to them. "How'd it go?" Grover asked, eager for the change in subject. "Did you get detention?"

Percy sighed and sat next to them on the fountain. "Nah. Not with Mr. Brunner. I wish he wouldn't push me so hard. I mean, I'm not a genius."

Nico snorted. "Tell us something we don't know."

"Can I have your apple?" Grover asked.

Percy gave it to him, his expression slightly dejected. Nico realized a little late that they might not have acted like the most compassionate friends just then. He didn't really know what to say to make him feel better, though. Nico di Angelo didn't _do_ compassionate. So he just sat there, letting the heavy awkwardness in the air settle on his shoulders.

Until Nancy Bobofit came by and dumped her sandwich on Grover's lap, her freckled cheeks stretched out in a wide grin. "Oops," she drawled.

Nico scowled, and was about to tell her just where she could shove her lunch, when the unexpected happened. All in the matter of a few seconds, the water from the fountain appeared to reach out and grab her, pulling her straight into the fountain with a large splash.

Nico gaped, then swiveled his head towards Percy, whose furious expression was quickly replaced by a bewildered one. Nancy started to scream, "It was Percy! He pushed me!" and all the other kids stared at them, murmuring things to their friends.

Mrs. Dodds appeared there in a flash. She pulled Nancy out of the water, then turned to Percy with a smug look on her face. "Come with me, honey," she ordered.

"Wait!" Grover exclaimed desperately. "I was the one who pushed her! Percy didn't do anything!"

"This is completely unfair," Nico said crossly. "There are a bunch of witnesses here who can confirm that all Percy did was just sit there."

Mrs. Dodds ignored him. Again. Although he wasn't quite sure it was because he was a son of Hades this time. "_Only_ Jackson will come."

Percy looked at them. "It's alright," he said. "Thanks for trying."

And he left with the fury-in-disguise, the uneasy feeling in Nico's gut growing ever more prominent. "I'm going to follow them," he decided.

Grover yelped. "Wh- Why? Wouldn't it be better to get a teacher? It might be safer that way." He looked despondently at Mr. Brunner, who was engrossed with his novel.

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Why? You think it'll be dangerous or something?" When Grover didn't answer, he continued. "No one's going to hurt us. Besides, I don't want to leave Percy alone with that old hag any longer than I have to. You coming?"

Grover gave one last helpless glance towards their Latin teacher, before nodding reluctantly. "Yeah, I guess."

"Great!" Nico dragged him into the museum. "Where do you think they are?"

Grover sniffed the air slightly, before pointing in what seemed like to Nico a random direction. "This way." Nico didn't question the satyr, and followed him through the halls.

They soon arrived at the Greek and Roman exhibit, which was completely empty except for Percy and Mrs. Dodds. Or, what used to be Mrs. Dodds. In her place was a strange creature with large, black bat wings, long talons and sharp, yellow fangs. It appeared Alecto had revealed herself.

Nico swore under his breath, and Grover stared up at the scene in horror. "Kindly One," he whimpered.

As Alecto prepared to attack Percy, Nico unthinkingly ran towards them. "Get away from him!" he shouted, attracting all attention to himself. Grover cursed in Ancient Greek.

The monster narrowed her red eyes at Nico. "You shouldn't be here," she hissed.

Nico straightened, giving her his fiercest glare. "I'll decide for myself where I should and shouldn't be," he retorted. "Now _leave_!"

Alecto gave him one last scornful look before turning back to Percy. "It is only a matter of time before you are destroyed, Perseus Jackson. We will find you again" And at that, she spread out her wings and flew through a window on the wall, shattering the glass into tiny pieces.

* * *

As all the adrenaline left him, Percy's legs started to quiver. He noticed that his friends didn't look much better than him; Nick's face was paler than usual and Grover looked like he'd like to collapse. "What- what was that?" Percy croaks.

"What was what?"

Percy turns to see Mr. Brunner in the doorway of the exhibit, watching the three of them with concern. "I was wondering where you disappeared to. What are you doing back here?"

Percy began telling him what happened in a shaky voice. "W-well, Mrs. Dodds, she told me to follow her, so I did, then she kept telling me to confess, I don't know what for, then she turned to this w-weird bat-human hybrid, then-"

Mr. Brunner frowned. "Percy, did you hit your head?" he said in a slow voice. "You may be delusional."

Percy shook his head insistently. "No, it really happened! Mrs. Dodds flew out that window right there-" He looked back at it, only to freeze in shock.

It was all in one piece. No cracks, no fragments, nothing. It was as if he'd imagined the whole thing.

Nick frowned at it. "That's pretty freaky," he muttered under his breath. "It's like nothing happened."

Mr. Brunner gave them a pitying look. "Why don't you all come with back with me. We'll be starting the tour again soon. Mrs. Kerr is gathering up the other students, and-"

Percy blinked. "Who?"

Mr. Brunner gave him a slightly worried look. "Mrs. Kerr, your pre-algebra teacher."

Now Percy was completely baffled. "But that doesn't make sense! What about Mrs. Dodds?"

"You keep mentioning this Mrs. Dodds character," Mr. Brunner said. "Who is she?"

"Our pre-algebra teacher. She came on this trip as a chaperone. Don't you remember?"

Mr. Brunner shook his head. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. I don't think there ever has been. Are you sure you're feeling all right?"

Percy stared. "What are you talking about? She's been here since January." He turned to his best friend. "Right, Grover?"

Grover averted his eyes, and a guilty expression crossed his face. "N-no, I don't. Sorry, Percy."

Percy frowned at him, thinking that maybe he and Mr. Brunner had collaborated together to play some big joke on him. If so, this was the least funny joke in the history of jokes. He hoped Nick wasn't in on it too. But he didn't think he was, judging by the boy's expression. He was watching the whole exchange with an annoyed and slightly contemplative look on his face, looking just as amused by this whole thing as Percy was; in other words, not at all.

"This isn't funny. I'm serious," Percy said.

Grover shook his head. "Sorry, I- I really don't know what you're talking about. We'd better hurry up, or everyone will leave without us." And he and Mr. Brunner left, leaving Percy and Nick behind in the otherwise empty room.

Nick must have sensed Percy's mood, because he sent a concerned glance his way. "You okay?" he asked."

Percy shook his head. "I don't know. I mean, I couldn't have imagined all that, right?" He began to pace back and forth. "I don't have a good enough imagination to do that, so it had to have been real. Right? You saw that too, right?" Percy was aware that the look he was sending Nick right then was desperate, but he couldn't help it. He had to be sure he wasn't crazy, or that his lunch hadn't been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.

Nick nodded, a grimace on his face. "Yeah, I saw it. Kinda hard to miss something like that."

Percy then remembered how Nick had chased away the... the weird, math teaching, Nancy Bobofit loving monster. "You just told her to go away, and she did. How'd you do that?"

Nick shifted uncomfortably. "I just did. You didn't try it, did you? Maybe it would have worked for you, too."

"Maybe," Percy agreed begrudgingly, although he wasn't too sure. "She did seem scared of you all year, though. Remember? It was like you had the plague or something."

Nick glowered. "Look, can we just drop it? I told her to go away, and it worked. Nothing else to it. Now, are we going to go, or are we just standing here all day?" And with that, he stormed out of the room.

Percy followed him, thinking to himself the whole time. They may not have been friends for long, but one thing he knew was that Nick only got defensive when he had something to hide. Add that on to the Mrs. Dodds incident, and Grover trying to pretend nothing had happened, and he felt he was getting into something way over his head.


End file.
